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If you bought a Celsius Energy Drink and have proof of purchase, the company that made the drink will pay you $250 after it was found to have made false claims about the contents of the beverage.
The energy drink brand was sued for claiming the beverage had no preservatives, but was later tested and found to contain citric acid.
The company says yes, they did include citric acid in the formula but not as a preservative, They said it was there for flavoring only, but decided to give up fighting the suit and offer the cash payout.
But how many people keep receipts for buying things like energy drinks, you may ask? The company says it will take your word for it but they will only pay you $20 in that instance.
The offer includes drinks bought between January 1, 2015 and November 23, 2022. To claim it, go to the Celsius website: celsiueclassactionsettlement.com.


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U.S. NAFTA auto proposals considered unfeasible by Canada, Mexico, industry, labour
Published Friday, October 13, 2017 4:27PM EDT Last Updated Friday, October 13, 2017 5:36PM EDT
Ford Motor Company President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs drives the first car to the end of the production line, as Ford Motor Company celebrates the global production start of the 2015 Ford Edge at the Ford Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ont., on Thursday, February 26, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
The United States is presenting a quadruple-whammy demand on auto manufacturing at the NAFTA negotiations, including a strict "Made In America" requirement with virtually no grace period to give car companies time to adjust.
The proposal is viewed as a non-starter by virtually every party involved in automobile production: Canada, Mexico, U.S. industry and even labour groups were calling the proposal completely unattainable.
It's one of the biggest issues of the talks and it's sure to provoke a backlash on multiple fronts.
The U.S. negotiating team showed industry representatives their proposal to Canada and Mexico and it contained four ideas that would complicate auto production, several sources said Friday.
First, it requires all cars to include 85 per cent North American content to avoid a tariff, up from the current 62.5 per cent; 50 per cent of a car's content would have to come from the U.S.; and it would toughen the way content is calculated, with a list upgraded to include parts that didn't exist in 1994 when NAFTA was originally implemented.
A fourth irritant is the minuscule proposed phase-in period.
Automakers would have one year to comply with the American-made quota and two years to comply with the overall North American content requirement under the proposal, which is a radical departure not only in substance but also in the timing of phase-in periods normally included in trade agreements.
The demands are deemed so impractical the talk in the hallways at the conference site revolves around which of two objectives the Americans are trying to achieve: Sabotage the talks, or shock other parties into concessions.
A Canadian auto-parts representative said he tends toward the latter.
"My instinct is this is, 'Art of the Deal,"' said Flavio Volpe. "There are those who think these are poison pills designed ... to get the partners to leave the table."
The proposal came as the U.S. made its first significant move on dairy, a traditional sticking point with Canada. Several insiders said Friday the U.S. has asked Canada to scrap its special classifications benefiting domestic producers for things like diafiltered cheese-making products.
The U.S. also wants a veto power over future Canadian classification changes.
What's already proposed would lead to changes in Canada's supply-management system. The U.S. has not yet made any explicit request for a percentage of Canada's protected dairy market. But that request could still come at any time.
Earlier U.S. demands include a termination clause that would cancel NAFTA after five years, unless all parties agree to extend it, and a Buy American rule that would make it far more difficult for non-U.S. companies to bid for public projects.
The auto proposal is so controversial, organizations that are normally rivals are allied against it. Volpe's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association says it could create a perverse incentive for producers to leave the continent.
Their argument is that it's far easier to ignore the NAFTA rules and simply pay the U.S. 2.5 per cent import tariff: "It's not good for the Americans," Volpe said. "It just doesn't make sense from a business perspective."
The union representing Canadian auto workers agrees.
Unifor's Jerry Dias says the U.S. would never have the power to enforce the proposed changes because companies would just ignore it: "All this argument about 50 per cent, 70 per cent, 85 per cent, it means nothing as long as the U.S. has a 2.5 per cent tariff. It's like the emperor with no clothes," Dias said.
"They can yell, scream, threaten, then people say, 'Okay, here -- I'll pay the 2.5 per cent'."
He said it's a moot point anyway because there's no chance Canada or Mexico will ever agree to a NAFTA that looks like what the Americans are proposing.
"Get it out of your head. That's never gonna happen," Dias said. "This is a deal that is going nowhere very quickly."
Scotiabank analysts agree the proposals would hurt their author.
Car companies would have an incentive to move production away from the U.S., and Canada, either to Asia or Mexico, and pay a tariff rather than deal with the rules being proposed by the U.S., said its deputy chief economist.
"If accepted, the U.S. (proposal) would be a pyrrhic victory," said Brett House.
House called the proposal a poor solution to a non-existent problem. Growth in auto employment since the Great Recession has skyrocketed in the U.S. to six per cent a year and he said North American content is on the rise in cars produced in Canada and Mexico, contrary to figures being floated by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
"There's no problem here to address," he said.
One real problem, however, is stagnant wages: U.S. auto salaries have not seen an appreciable increase for years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dias says that's the problem everyone should be attacking -- by increasing labour standards, especially in Mexico.

domain: news


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Ahead of the opening bell, Lennar is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share on $5.47 billion in revenue, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.
New home sales rose again in August as a the drop in mortgage rates starts to benefit the U.S. housing market. Analysts are expecting that Lennar will exceed 4% growth in net new orders during the third quarter given the rebound in new home demand. Lennar’s results comes as the homebuilders have been outperforming the broader market in a lower interest rate environment. The ETF tracking the homebuilders, XHB, jumped nearly 37% in 2019, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 20% in the same time period.
Meanwhile, after the market close, retailer Bed Bath & Beyond will release fiscal second-quarter financial results. The embattled retailer has a lot to prove to investors given that the stock has tanked 82% over the past five years and 27% over the past year. Bed Bath & Beyond still has yet to appoint a permanent CEO, and investors will be expecting to hear additional details on the recent board shake up and layoffs.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect Bed Bath & Beyond to report adjusted earnings of 24 cents per share on $2.75 billion in revenue. The options market is implying a 19% move in either direction following the report.
Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
More from Heidi:


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Passes on the benefits of robust cost structures, vertically integrated in-house technology and manufacturing capabilities, along with Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to its customers
S1 Pro, S1 Air, and S1 X+ now available at INR 129,999, INR 104,999, and INR 84,999 respectively
Bengaluru, February 16, 2024: In its biggest push yet to accelerate India’s electrification efforts and breaking all barriers to EV adoption, Ola Electric, India’s largest electric vehicle company, has reduced the prices across its S1 scooter portfolio by up to INR 25,000. The company has announced this move on the back of a robust cost structure coupled with strong vertically integrated in-house technology and manufacturing capabilities, and eligibility to manufacturing incentives.
With a robust, aggressively priced product portfolio, the Ola S1 scooters outperforms any traditional ICE vehicles, making it the superior choice in the scooter market with savings of upto INR 30,000/year. These prices are valid only for the month of February.
W.E.F 16th Feb, 2024, the revised pricing of the S1 portfolio is as follows:
S1 X (4kWh)
S1 X+ (3kWh)
S1 X (3kWh)
S1 X (2kWh)
Ola spokesperson, Ola Electric said, “At Ola, we are committed to #EndICEAge by breaking all barriers to EV adoption and making EVs more affordable and accessible. Aligned with our mission to push EV adoption across the country, we are introducing unprecedented prices across our S1 portfolio. On the back of a strong vertically integrated in-house technology and manufacturing capabilities, we have been able to restructure costs and decided to pass on the benefits to customers. Priced equivalently to leading ICE scooters, we are confident that customers will now have no reason to buy an ICE scooter.”
Recently, Ola Electric was awarded as the first Indian 2W company to receive Domestic Value Addition (DVA) certificate under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for automobile and auto component industry. The PLI certification is a testament to companies’ vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities, robust localised supply chain ecosystem and govt. subsidies have helped the company restructure costs and hence reduce prices of scooters across S1 portfolio making them more affordable and accessible.
Ola Electric has recently announced a series of initiatives spanning across products, service, charging network and battery warranty in an effort to break all barriers in the adoption of EVs. With the launch of S1 X (4kWh), Ola Electric expanded its portfolio to six best-in-class products, ranging across different price points and catering to customers with different range requirements.
The company also launched the industry’s first 8 year/80,000 km extended battery warranty for the entire range of products at no extra cost, a move that addresses the biggest barrier for EV adoption by extending the lifespan of the vehicles by 2X of ICE vehicles. Additionally, Ola Electric also unveiled the plans to expand its service network by 50% from the current 414 service centres to ~600 centres across the country by April 2024.


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CreDec has become the first Authorised Payment Institution (API) to join the UK Faster Payments Scheme. We are now a full member settling in central bank money. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates membership of the scheme. Direct access allows CreDec to process payments without going through a commercial bank.
CreDec access to the UK Real-Time Gross Settlement payment system (RTGS) results from the introduction of a new access regime earlier in 2018 by the Bank of England. The Bank worked with the FCA, HM Treasury, HM Revenue & Customs, the Payment Systems Regulator and the payment system operators.
CreDec’s business model eliminates customer and wider systemic payment credit risk. It delivers both the competition and risk-reduction goals for the UK monetary authorities non-bank Payment Service Provider (PSP) access policy. The Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, set out the policy in July 2014
Alex Meynell, Chief Executive of CreDec said:
“We’re delighted to be the first API to join the UK Faster Payments scheme. CreDec is committed to innovation in UK payments and we are pleased to be able to make good on the Bank’s policy aims to contribute to systemic risk reduction.”


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Recruiting giant Page Group has increased its outlook for the year for the second time in just three months, as the company reported strong profits in the Americas and Asia.
Page said that it had seen gross profit jump by nearly 25 per cent in the Americas in the third quarter of the year when compared to the same period before the pandemic.
In Asia Pacific gross profit was up by a fifth also when compared to 2019. Page has continued to use 2019 as a benchmark because last year’s results were significantly affected by Covid-19.
It also compares the company against its own personal best – it reported its highest ever gross profit in 2019.
As a result the company’s new forecasts are that operating profit will reach around £155 million for the full financial year.
It is an upgrade from the £125m to £135m that the company had predicted in July.
“We exited the quarter strongly with September up 26 per cent on 2019 compared with July and August, up 4% and 9% vs 2019 respectively,” said chief executive Steve Ingham.
“This noticeable improvement and record performance in Q3 was seen throughout the group and was achieved despite the backdrop of continued restrictions or lockdowns in many of our markets.
“Looking ahead, there continues to be a high degree of global macro-economic uncertainty as Covid-19 remains a significant issue and restrictions remain in a number of the group’s markets.
“Additionally, there is further uncertainty regarding the pace of clients’ offices reopening, challenges in global supply chains and the inflation outlook.
“However, the strength of our performance in (the third quarter), and notably in September, has further increased confidence in our outlook for the year and therefore, subject to no other unexpected events, we now expect full-year operating profit to be in the region of £155 million.”
Shares had risen around 6.5 per cent shortly before midday on Wednesday.


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04-19-2012, 09:09 AM #1
Retail inflation spikes to 9.47% in March
A spurt in prices of milk and its products, vegetables, meat, edible oil and fuel pushed the retail inflation to 9.47 per cent in March, suggesting deterioration in the price situation.
Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 8.83 per cent in February, as per the government data released here Wednesday.
According to the data, milk and its products prices went up by 15.22 per cent in March as compared the price level in the same month a year ago. Similarly, the price of edible oil rose by 14.2 per cent.
Fuel price increased by 11.8 per cent while clothing bedding and footwear rates rose by 12.50 per cent in the month under review as compared to year ago period.
Prices of egg, fish and meat shot up 10.06 per cent, while vegetables became costlier by 10.20 per cent.
Worried over rising food prices, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said on Tuesday that high level of inflation would persist for time being and there was no escape from it.
RBI Governor D Subbarao, which reduced the benchmark rates by 0.5 per cent on Tuesday to boost growth, had termed inflation as "necessary evil".
The inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has, however, eased to 6.89 per cent in March as compared to 9.68 per cent in the same month a year ago. It was 6.95 per cent in February.
According to the CPI data, retail inflation for rural and urban areas were 8.79 per cent and 10.30 per cent respectively in March this year, suggesting that prices rose faster in cities than in villages.


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A container ship which had run aground in the Elbe River has been freed after two previous attempts had failed. The boat is expected to continue on its intended course later this week.
Rescue efforts began at 2 a.m. local time (01:00 UTC/GMT), taking only 20 minutes to free the cargo ship "CSCL Indian Ocean," which had run aground in the Elbe River about 35 kilometers (roughly 22 miles) northwest of Hamburg almost a week ago.
High tides on a new moon and south-westerly winds in the North Sea facilitated the operation; the affected section of the Elbe River was closed off to traffic during the rescue attempts.
It took 12 tug boats to finally release the container ship, which is registered with the China Shipping Container Lines shipping company, and tow it back into the shipping channel. The boat arrived safely in Hamburg at about 5:30 a.m. local time, being pulled by five tugboats.
Cargo ship given clean bill of health
The rescue team from the "Havariekommando Cuxhaven" said that the accident in the Elbe River had apparently been caused by a defect in the steering system.
After initial check-ups, they said that there was no evidence of any lasting damage and that the steering system was in working order again. The cargo ship is expected to leave Hamburg later this week following a set of further checks.
Put in operation last year, the "CSCL Indian Ocean" is one of the largest cargo ships in the world, measuring 400 meters (1,300 feet) in length and 59 meters in width.
At the time of running aground in the Elbe, the boat was carrying 6,600 containers of cargo. In terms of twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu) measurements, the maximum number of containers a ship could carry is 19,100 teu. Only a handful of cargo vessels in the world exceed 19,000 teu.
ss/msh (AFP, dpa)


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New Sony Xperia SP and Xperia L could be announced on March 18
Samsung might not be the only major company to ready the introduction of a new, important Android smartphone this month. Sony might do that, too.
The Japanese company is preparing to host a press even on March 18 in Moscow, and Russian website MobilTelefon believes it’s going to officially announce the Xperia SP C530x and Xperia L C210x (it’s not the first time we’re hearing about these two handsets).
The Xperia SP (codenamed HuaShan, and pictured below) reportedly features a 4.6 inch display with 1280 x 720 pixels, dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm processor, Adreno 320 GPU, and an 8MP rear camera.
As for the Xperia L, it’s said that this features a 4.3 inch FWVGA (854 x 480) display, 8MP rear camera, dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, Adreno 305 graphics, 8GB of internal memory (expandable via MicroSD), and a 1,700 mAh battery.
Both the Xperia SP and Xperia L will run Android Jelly Bean. There is no word on when and exactly where they are going to be available, but we will let you know as soon as we find out.
Another new Xperia that’s supposed to be announce later this year is the C670x, which could feature a 4.8 inch Full HD display, 13MP rear camera, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory, and a 1.8GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor.


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A new free news app for the iPhone released today enables users to turn text-based web pages, such as articles and blog posts into video summaries automatically. The App – Wibbitz, is an alternative for reading long text content on your tiny mobile screen. Wibbitz creates beautiful video summaries out of text articles and can be seen as an alternative for reading long text content on your tiny mobile screen.
To stay updated on the latest news of your own subject you don’t have to keep an eye on news article’s textual words anymore especially when you are on the move, if you have iPhone or iPod Touch, Wibbitz lets you watch the news you love in the form of video summaries instead of having to read it word by word.
To ‘watch & listen’ articles choose news sources like world, business, technology, sports and around 50 different kind of sources you can choose from, swipe up anywhere to watch them, swipe down anywhere to go back, you can even arrange your feeds in the order you want. The resulting videos typically takes between 60-120 seconds to form, and include natural voice narration.
Using artificial intelligence, advanced text analysis and smart algorithms Wibbitz creates beautiful and short video summaries out of pure text to save you a lot of energy and time.
Wibbitz visualizes the story by taking full advantage of the iPhone’s beautiful screen and algorithmically generate video summaries out of text articles using large images, video clips, animated infographics and natural voice, the Wibbitz technology literally brings stories to life.
Wibbitz automate the process of creating short videos at high speed and volume by intelligently weaving together related images, videos-clips and animated infographics.
To get published in Wibbitz app, Publishers can contact Wiibitz to apply as one, turn their web-pages video avatar capabilities, moreover publishers can even monetize your videos summaries weaved together from your web-pages. Currently there are about 50 different publishers in Wibbitz app.
Wibbitz technology allows to automatically transform text-based web pages, such as articles and blog posts, into beautiful short video summaries by applying a variety of smart natural language processing algorithms and machine learning capabilities to fully capture the essence of a story.
Wibbitz is backed by top tier investors including Horizons Ventures (famous for investment in facebook), Li Ka-Shing’s private investment fund, Initial Capital and young VC company Kima Ventures. Yotam Cohen, Co-founder of Wibbitz told us that – the company is planning to launch the app for Android OS as well, it will be released within coming few months.
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Aeon, JGC, Panasonic, Softbank, Toyota: Japan Equity Preview
The following companies may have unusual price changes in Japanese trading today. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of the latest close. The information in each item was released after markets shut unless stated otherwise.
Aeon Co. (8267 JT): Japan’s second-largest retailer said first-quarter operating profit probably rose from a year earlier as cost-cutting measures helped offset lower sales. Aeon may say its March-May operating profit rose 30 percent to about 28 billion yen ($349 million), according to the Nikkei newspaper. The stock rose 0.1 percent to 897 yen.
Electric Power Development Co. (9513 JT), Mitsui & Co. (8031 JT): The companies signed an accord with Russia’s state- controlled OAO RusHydro to cooperate on renewable energy and power conservation projects, the Russian company said. Electric Power, known as J-Power, jumped 7.3 percent to 2,156 yen. Mitsui slid 0.8 percent to 1,277 yen.
JFE Holdings Inc. (5411) (5411 JT) and Nippon Steel Corp. (5401) (5401 JT): The steelmakers had their credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service, which said the companies will find it difficult to pass on rising costs to customers. JFE fell 0.3 percent to 2,006 yen. Nippon Steel rose 0.4 percent to 236 yen.
JGC Corp. (1963) (1963 JT): The plant builder will acquire a 10 percent stake in a shale oil mine in Texas. The company plans to complete the purchase by the end of July following due diligence, according to a statement on its website that didn’t disclose financial terms. The stock slipped 0.5 percent to 2,083 yen.
Kubota Corp. (6326) (6326 JT): The farm equipment maker forecast full-year net income will rise 9.4 percent to 60 billion yen from a year earlier, on a 7.1 percent increase in sales. The stock retreated 0.9 percent to 662 yen.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (6503) (6503 JT): The electronics maker said it expects a 37 percent drop in first-half net income to 45 billion yen. The stock advanced 1.4 percent to 886 yen.
Nippon Sheet Glass Co. (5202 JT): The glassmaker will spend 21.6 billion yen to form a unit in Vietnam to increase production capacity, according to a statement. The stock rose 0.8 percent to 241 yen.
Nissan Motor Co. (7201 JT) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) (7211 JT): The automakers aim to increase their combined minicar market share to 20 percent from 15 percent now, Junichi Endo, chief executive officer of the companies’ minicar venture said. Nissan dropped 0.6 percent to 795 yen. Mitsubishi Motors was unchanged at 93 yen.
Panasonic Corp. (6752) (6752 JT): The electronics maker forecast net income will fall 59 percent to 30 billion yen in the year to March 2012 after Japan’s March 11 earthquake disrupted factories and suppliers. The stock rose 0.5 percent to 929 yen.
Softbank Corp. (9984) (9984 JT): Japan’s third-largest wireless expects to reach an agreement “soon” on its dispute over Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s sale of the Alipay online-payment unit, Chairman Masayoshi Son said at a media briefing in Seoul. Softbank is the second-biggest shareholder at Alibaba, which spun off its Alipay business without the consent of Softbank and Yahoo! Inc., the largest stakeholder. The stock sank 1.3 percent to 2,822 yen.
Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings Inc. (8616 JT): The securities company said its board approved it to buy back up to 5.42 percent of its outstanding shares. The stock added 0.5 percent to 199 yen.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501 JT): The owner of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant plans to formally ask its primary banks, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316 JT) and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., to refinance its existing loan balance with lower rates, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Tokyo Electric, battling the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, had its credit rating cut four steps to junk status by Moody’s Investors Service as costs related to the Fukushima disaster escalated. Tokyo Electric gained 4 percent to 314 yen.
Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) (7203 JT): The automaker will hire 2,000 temporary factory workers in Japan this fall as it increases production, the Nikkei newspaper reported. The stock was unchanged at 3,175 yen.
Zojirushi Corp. (7965) (7965 JO): The manufacturer of rice cookers and thermoses boosted its full-year net income outlook 61 percent to 1.85 billion yen, citing higher overseas sales and lower costs from the stronger yen. The stock slipped 0.9 percent to 221 yen.
To contact the reporter on this story: Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at firstname.lastname@example.org.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at email@example.com.


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We are hosting another joint Refresh Boyne/ M1 Payments Corridor event in The Mill in June and are delighted to have Conor Nolan as a guest speaker on the night. Conor is 24 year-old psychology graduate from Termonfeckin, Co.Louth, with a background in start-ups.
Blockchain stands to revolutionise communication and transaction recordation, in his Refresh Boyne talk Conor is going to discuss how using blockchain technologies helps in building trust between strangers and enabling increased provenance, transparency and privacy, and will highlight other opportunities of blockchain for various industries.
– Web Summit Speaker
– Sunday Independent’s Top 30 Under 30
– Business Development Manager of Kontainers, an enterprise software company building bespoke platforms for the biggest brands in shipping and launching a new product soon that will democratize the software for every freight forwarder in the world.
By providing rates, schedules and booking in a one-stop online package, Kontainers is trying to do to shipping what Expedia and Skyscanner have done to flying and travel: cut out the existing middlemen and install its website in their place. “We’ve digitised the entire process,” says Charles Lee, the co-founder of Kontainers. “You come on to our site, you type in your pickup location and destination and it gives you a quote in seconds.”
– Partnerships Manager in Blocknubie, an emerging, open-source platform that acts as a bridge between off-chain organizations, start-ups and the blockchain ecosystem.
Blocknubie simplifies and automates the startup process. It builds a highly personalised and structured roadmap based on each unique blockchain concept, location, market data and timeframes. This roadmap will utilise advanced artificial intelligence to map a path to success.and allows entrepreneurs to simulate their ideas in a sandbox to rapidly validate and prototype their ideas.
Refresh Boyne is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of the New Media industry in the Boyne region. Refresh Boyne hold events that promote design, technology, usability and standards and is part of, and inspired, by the Refreshing Cities movement.
Refreshments kindly sponsored by Amphenol TCS.
Date: Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Time: 19:30 – 21:00
Venue: The Mill Enterprise Hub


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If you are one of those who believes that lubes are only for older women who have lost their natural lubrication.
The story tracked the rise, fall and resurrection of Lora DiCarlo, a company that won the robotics award at CES last year,
Looking to spice things up in the bedroom? thMart has you covered with a range of vibrators and sex toys to excite and awaken.
‘Sex tech’ aims to rise above negative image – "Sex toys have an extremely negative connotation," said Jerome Bensimon, president of Satisfyer. The company has.
Sex tech is gracing the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, after organisers endured scorn for revoking.
The majority of couples (six in 10) say they would like to jump in the sack on 24 December, according to a poll of 2,175.
Kolkatasex Kolkata (/ k ɒ l ˈ k ʌ t ə /, Bengali: (), also known as Calcutta / k æ
LAS VEGAS – Sex toys are back on the CES show floor. And Lora Haddock DiCarlo deserves a lot.
Osé emerged in partnership.
Sex toys are for relaxation. For education. For healing after childbirth. For long-term or long-distance relationships. For.
Lora DiCarlo, named after its owner, won an innovation award from CES last year for a prototype of its sex toy, Osé, a.


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AT&T will buy T-Mobile USA for $US39 billion in cash and stock, easily making AT&T the nation's largest wireless carrier, ahead of top-ranked competitor Verizon Wireless and reducing the number of major national wireless carriers from four to three.
AT&T plans to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $39 billion, the companies announced Sunday.
T-Mobile USA suffered a net loss of 23,000 customers in the fourth quarter but gained 1 million smartphone users, which helped to increase the data revenue that the carrier pulled in from an average subscriber.
Some people may yet debate the value of femtocells, but the tide has turned: in 2010, the number of femtocells around the world exceeded the number of macrocells, according to the Femto Forum.
T-Mobile USA today said the Galaxy S 4G smartphone will ship this month and offered more details on its G-Slate tablet by LG, saying it will have an 8.9-in. 3D-capable display when it ships this spring.
T-Mobile offered a few more details on Tuesday about two upcoming devices that will run on its HSPA+ network: Samsung's Galaxy S 4G and LG's G-Slate, one of the first tablets to run the Honeycomb version of Android.
CES might be over, but the 4G phones keep trickling in. As a part of its aggressive 4G plans, T-Mobile announced that the Samsung Galaxy 4G will launch in the first half of 2011. But will it have the specs of the hot next-gen Galaxy phones? It doesn'...
T-Mobile USA will soon launch 4G HSPA+ versions of the Samsung Galaxy S and T-Mobile Sidekick phones, T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm announced early Thursday.
Mobile operators were out in full force at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, promoting their improved data networks and unveiling new devices. But with their marketing efforts in overdrive, the operators may confuse ...
Cisco and T-Mobile USA today announced Wi-Fi Calling for Business to help ensure reliable voice calls over Wi-Fi as well as seamless roaming of voice and data traffic between Wi-Fi and cellular networks for smartphone users.
Mobile broadband based on HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) will in the future be able to offer download speeds of more than 650M bps, T-Mobile USA and Nokia Siemens Networks said on Wednesday.
Verizon's 4G LTE service goes live Sunday in 39 cities, growing the field of companies offering fast mobile broadband 4G service. Verizon joins Sprint and T-Mobile which are also hawking wireless services at 4G data speeds. Meanwhile lesser-known pro...
Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphones have been on sale for more than three weeks in the U.S. and seem to be producing little buzz and only so-so sales.
Three of the four largest mobile phone carriers in the U.S. have formed a joint venture to turn phones into digital wallets, allowing subscribers to pay for groceries and other retail items using their phones, instead of credit cards or other methods...
If you've been hoping that someone would find a way to jailbreak the supposedly "unrootable" T-Mobile G2, your wish has come true. XDA Developers forum member "Scotty2" discovered a way of rooting the T-Mobile G2 phone with VISIONary (a hack similar ...
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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Back in June we announced the launch of an exciting exhibition at The Design Museum in London showcasing the influences and designs of one of Britain’s most iconic fashion designers: Paul Smith.
Now, with the unveiling of the exciting exhibit this Friday 15th November, we eagerly anticipate what is sure to be one of the most exciting fusions of the fashion and the art worlds this year.
Forced at the young age of 17 to abandon his hopes of becoming a professional racing cyclist after a severe accident, Paul found himself immersed in the world of art, music and fashion. A mere two years after his accident, he was managing his first boutique in Nottingham, eventually taking evening classes in tailoring to finally produce the clothing designs that he had envisioned.
The highly anticipated exhibition invites the spectator into the illustriously imaginative world of the acclaimed designer; showcasing his career to date, influences and hinting at future elements from the designer who has already given us a comprehensive catalogue of collections. Charting the rise of the iconic brand, the exhibition draws upon Paul’s personal archives to explore his ingenious approach to fashion design.
The exhibition will be at London’s Design Museum from 11th November 2013 until 9th March 2014. To purchase tickets, please see the below information:
T 020 7940 8783


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Previously, FAN dealt only with ad placements in mobile apps. FAN reportedly achieved a $1 billion run rate in Q4, so the addition of mobile Web sites could be a boon.
Social publisher Diply is one of the publishers in the closed beta test, Facebook confirmed via AdExchanger. The move is viewed as an alternative to Google's AdSense.
Facebook's move into mobile Web inventory means that FAN will have access to a new crop of publishers and could pose a challenge for Google, Apple, AOL-owned Millennial Media and other mobile ad network operators.
Facebook's Audience Network launched with the company's acquisition of LiveRail two years ago. Native video was later added to FAN last year.The expansion into mobile Web sites leaves open the prospect of whether Facebook will over time add desktop media, an area where AdSense is well-entrenched.


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Letter sent to the Irish Times, but not yet published.
It is heartening to see the excellent coverage the Irish Times has recently given to deforestation in Indonesia. (see Indonesia's failure to protect rain forests criticised. 16th July). Why? A lot of the food and household products we all have in our homes contains palm oil - singularly the biggest cause of deforestation in Indonesia. If you look at the ingredients of anything in your fridge or cupboard, if it has 'vegetable oil' listed, the chances are this is palm oil; some branded products specifically mention palm oil or palm kernel - it's the same thing.
Palm oil companies continue to destroys thousands of hectares of ancient rainforest every year. In doing so they kill millions of animals - everything; insects, fish, birds, even tigers, elephants, and orangutans - mercilessly wiped out. It does not have to be this way and the people of Ireland can join the rest of the world in helping prevent a lot of this needless destruction.
There is no need for palm oil companies to log rainforests. There is already more than enough cleared land for them to grow palm oil on.
Greenpeace are absolutely right to request an investigation into the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry; the Minister has already proven himself to be a sympathiser to illegal loggers.
You can make a difference. Please contact your local supermarket and ask them what steps have they taken to ensure palm oil in any products sold in their stores come from a fully sustainable and approved source? Let them know, you do not want to be eating food which may be tainted with the blood of orangutans.


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DETROIT - In the days since Superstorm Sandy, an alarming prediction has flashed across the Internet: Hundreds of thousands of flood-damaged vehicles will inundate the nation's used-car market, and buyers might not be told which cars have been ruined.
Not true, according to insurance-claims data reviewed by the Associated Press. The actual number of affected vehicles is far smaller, and some of those cars will be repaired and kept by their owners. The dire predictions are being spread by a company that sells vehicle title and repair histories and by the largest group representing American car dealers.
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Western Kentucky is now a part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Locations in Marshall and Christian counties are among seven of the state’s so-called micro or craft distilleries added to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour. State officials joined distillers to make the announcement today in Lexington. Silver Trail Distillery in Hardin and MB Roland Distillery in Pembroke are the far western Kentucky stops.
Christian County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Cheryl Cook says she’s glad to see emphasis put on western Kentucky.
“Sometimes we get left out when people think about tourism, but we have so much to offer here, and having the extra people to get here and see the bourbon distilleries, then they’ll also get to visit and see the other things that we have that are so wonderful," said Cook.
MB Roland owner and operator Paul Tomaszewski says the move is good for the industry.
“When you go to Kentucky, it’s going to be anywhere you go, you’ll be able to travel less than an hour and go see a distillery," he said. "And pretty much all of us are highly unique, so it will be a unique experience to go see different ones.”
Tomaszewski says most craft distillery bourbon tastes different from large industry bourbon because most small scale distillers use a pot still. He says the craft distillers also source their grain locally, adding regional flair to the flavor.
The Trail started in 1999 to promote the state’s bourbon industry. The craft distillery tours officially kick off October 18. The other tour locations are Barrel House Distillery, Lexington; Corsair Artisan Distillery, Bowling Green; Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon; Old Pogue Distillery, Maysville; and Willlet Distillery, Bardstown.


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Byton released a test batch of crossovers with a 48-inch dashboardApril 15, 2020
The first batch of electric crossovers M-Byte with a huge dashboard released Byton factory in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
In China, the trial samples of the new electric crossover M-Byte left the conveyor, the main feature of which was the dashboard of incredible sizes – as much as 48 inches! These machines have to go for life tests and crash tests. They promise to organize a market debut by the middle of this year. Electrocross was the first model to register at a high-tech factory in Nanjing. The conceptual Byton M-Byte was introduced back in 2018 as part of the CES exhibition. Serial electrocross was presented a year later at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The concept car differs from the serial car in some details: for example, other bumpers. But the original curved 48-inch display, combining dashboard and multimedia, still came out in a series.
Management is carried out using voice commands, gestures, physical buttons, touchscreens and emotion recognition. The basic modification of Byton M-Byte will be equipped with a 272-horsepower electric motor. The capacity of traction batteries varies from 72 to 95 kWh. The range of the electric car on a single charge depends on the battery – 430 or 550 kilometers.
All-wheel drive cross will get two motors with a total power of 408 hp The battery capacity in this case is 95 kWh. This is enough to drive 505 kilometers without recharging. Up to 80 percent of the new product can be charged in just 35 minutes.
- Lynk & Co presented the Zero concept
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- Several other Volkswagen employees accused of involvement in dieselgate
- Tesla’s network outage caused a stir among users around the world
- Rolls-Royce introduced a long wheelbase version of the Ghost


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Energy crisis is the order of the day in California. The state is bearing the brunt of climate change rising heat waves,
So much so, that California Governor Gavin Newsom felt the need to sign a law this year to make a Heat Wave Classification System, By January 2025, a barometer should already be in place by the California Environmental Protection Agency to measure these events.
One of the worst heat waves was experienced last September. The California Independent System Operator, the body charged with protecting the region’s electrical grid, was forced to announce rotating power outage Able to do full population supply,
[La universidad de UCLA crea la batería del futuro y capta la atención del ejército de EEUU]
The state launched a campaign called “Flex Alert” to encourage population to save energy During peak hours of the day. Air conditioning was the main ally in mitigating the effects of high temperatures, but also the main enemy of the power supply during one of the longest heat waves in California history.
Faced with this threat, the electricity and gas company, Pacific Gas & Electricbecame one of the first in California to a reverse charging pilot program,
The aim of such initiative is return to power supply energy that is not being consumed In those moments
Pilot, touted as the “Vehicle to Everything,” allows drivers Electric car owners discharge their vehicles’ batteries to feed it back into the electricity grid during times of high demand. In return, the user will generate profit Thank you for this program.
Pacific Gas & Electric earlier this month invited its customers to the trial program. overall they will be accepted 1,000 residents and 200 merchants in houses,
the power company will give $2,500 incentive and $3,000 for each user in disadvantaged communities. In most cases, this is the approximate cost of installing a two-way charger in a home, although some cities cost even more.
[Carbon Ridge, la startup californiana que quiere descarbonizar la economía marítima]
will be received among users added to the pilot program 10 and 50 dollars each time an emergency “flex alert” occurs Caused by a heat wave or any other type of event. The total bonus will depend on the demand at that time and the discharged battery level of the vehicle.
It is clear that in the case of this type of technology will also be important power outage yesif it happened a big earthquake,
It is estimated that customers can generate several hundred dollars or even over a thousand dollars a year, Thank you for the encouragement provided by Pacific Gas & Electric. However, the actual benefit has to be calculated more precisely if the final cost of installing a bi-directional charger and recharging the vehicle is taken into account.
Tesla out of the program
The first vehicle to comply with the “Vehicle to Everything” program is the Ford F-150, which Works with Bidirectional Charging Thanks to its Ford Pro Charger Adapter, which is available for sale now.
Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that in 2023 it will also add compatibility with the Nissan Leaf Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq-5 and Kia EV6, Models will be added to the list in the coming years. Porsche Taycan, Volvo EX90, VW ID.4 and GM Silverado in 2024 and Polestar 3 in 2025.
Attract attention Tesla missing from this list, especially considering that it’s the best-selling electric vehicle in California. However, it appears that the company has no plans to make a two-way charger, at least for now.
In case of emergency and to go for vehicle battery nurture power houseThe Ford F-150, for example, can contribute up to 80% of the load. electricity for two whole days,
can feed as well Important Toolsuch as refrigerators, during a whole month, Nevertheless, it will be possible to save 20% of the car’s battery.
Pacific Gas & Electric’s program will continue for the next two years and will be critical in finding solutions to California’s power supply problems. expected that the heat waves of the coming years will be even more intense,


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Microsoft(s msft) released a new Windows Phone app on Wednesday that emphasizes its “Windows anywhere” software concept. Reading List is now available for Windows Phone 8.1 handsets and it supplements the already available app by the same name on Windows 8 PCs and tablets.
Reading List is what it sounds like: The software is meant to save online content for later reading.
It’s akin to similar third-party apps such as Instapaper and Pocket for example, neither of which are natively available for Microsoft’s smartphone platform. The app can save web articles from Internet Explorer, videos and even content from other native Microsoft apps such as News. Unlike similar apps, the software renders content in its original format, meaning, it doesn’t strip ads or other bits from the content. You can, however, hit the Reader Mode button within the app for that view.
Organization of content is a focus as well:
“Reading List on Windows Phone 8.1 shares many of the awesome features seen in the Windows 8.1 app like being able to organize and filter articles into categories. Reading List on Windows Phone 8.1 has an improved Home screen that highlights an article from your list with a nice big version of the article’s image and under that, the Recently viewed section will show the five most recent things launched from Reading List.”
The idea here is that it doesn’t matter which device you’re using, provided its a Windows device, that is. Your reading list will sync between PC, tablet and phone so that you don’t lose track of content you want to consume. I don’t see any mention of Reading List working in an offline mode, so if that’s missing, I’d like to see Microsoft add offline reading support soon.


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Zespri International has called in police to investigate the transfer of Gold3 and Gold9 kiwifruit varieties into China that may have been done illegally. Last year the Mount Maunganui-based international fruit marketer started investigating reports that a kiwifruit license had been sold to a third party, breaching the terms limiting transfers within a country, and it passed on that evidence to police in December which is investigating, it said in a statement…Full Article: NZ Herald Apr 2017
- New Zealand’s Zespri noted that the illegal transfer of [Psa-resistant] Gold3 and Gold9 kiwifruit in China occurred on a “relatively small scale”.
- In September 2016, FruitDay (Shanghai e-commerce platform) became a retailer of New Zealand’s Zespri kiwifruit.
- In April 2016, New Zealand’s kiwifruit producer, Zespri, has reached an agreement with the provincial government of Shaanxi to promote research and scientific collaboration. Zespri also plans to open offices in Chengdu and Chongqing in order to market its kiwifruit in western China. In addition, Zespri announced it would expand its China-based staff from 25 to 90 over the next three years and would look to partner with local producers to cultivate kiwifruit in China.
- From 2013 to 2015, China’s kiwifruit production increased from 1.2 million MTs to 1.78 million MTs.
- In February 2013, New Zealand confirmed that the 2010 Psa outbreak originated from China.
- In November 2012, approximately 68% (only 26% in 2011) of the country’s kiwifruit orchards were adversely affected by the disease.
- In November 2010, New Zealand’s North Island kiwifruit orchards began suffering from Psa (bacterial kiwifruit vine disease) outbreaks. In 2010, Zespri commercialized is Gold3 (SunGold) kiwifruit variety, which was more resistant Psa. Gold9 was also released but suffered in the market due to its “shriveled skin” appearance.
- In May 2006, SkyPeople Fruit Juice began producing kiwifruit after it acquired 50.2% of of Xi’an Jiaoda Qinmei Modern Agriculture. SkyPeople Fruit Juice’s ‘Qinmei’ kiwifruit orchards in Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi Province, were China’s largest kiwifruit production area.
- Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, SkyPeople Fruit Juice is located in one of China’s primary fruit-growing regions and is particularly well known for kiwifruit. In 2010, SkyPeople Fruit Juice transferred from NYSE Amex (NYSE MKT) to NASDAQ.
- In 1997, New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board established the Zespri brand (headquartered in Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, North Island).
Hong Kong Trends


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WILDWOOD, N.J. (WHTM) — According to Johns Hopkins University, New Jersey ranks second for its number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. but that’s not stopping the state from opening up its beaches and boardwalks.
Gov. Phil Murphy made the announcement Thursday, that the Jersey shore will be open in time for Memorial Day.
Starting next Friday, May 22, crowds will be limited and social distancing is encouraged. Rides, games, and playgrounds will stay closed. Showers and restrooms will be open.
Our ABC affiliate WPVI states the governor also said each town must establish its own capacity limitations and ways to enforce social distancing. Restaurants on boardwalks can remain open for takeout only, and amusement parks and playgrounds will remain closed.
Also opening soon in New Jersey is the drive-thru Safari at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park. The park itself will remain closed but guests can drive their own cars through the Safari which features more than 1,000 exotic animals. They say you must register online, but there’s no word yet on an official opening date.
- Loved ones to remember Kyan King at funeral Wednesday
- State Senate approves bill to provide expanded broadband access in Pa
- Eligible unemployed workers to be paid next week, State says


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Michael French speaks to European development managing director Gary Dunn about how the company has grown its set of studios and embraced the independent model…
Unlike the other Japanese giants which have managed to establish a foothold in Europe, Sega’s activity has been a rollercoaster of its own making.
While for instance Nintendo’s fate has been tied to its hardware, and Square Enix’s to distribution of some (or rather, two) core brands, Sega has moved to forge its own path, switching from format-holder to cross-platform developer with a varied output.
In time, its European operation has grown greatly, with an impressive investment in local talent. As well as signing up games by third-party studios (more on that later), Sega Europe’s development interests have expanded to include three studios – Sports Interactive and the UK and Australian offices of Creative Assembly. And the investment is set to continue, says Gary Dun, MD of Sega’s European Development operation.
“We’ve got, without doubt, some of the best development talent in Europe working for us,” he tells Develop, looking back at the growth of the publisher’s internal development in the past four years. But by Dunn’s own admission, aside from one high-profile blip (the aborted Sega Racing Studio), Sega Europe’s development activity has been “under the radar”.
For Creative Assembly, the biggest change has been the addition of around 100 staff to its two offices. Around half of those have been hired for its Brisbane, Australia team, growing it from a small, outsourcing-focused eight-man team to over 50 staff and the development of the high-scoring Medieval 2. The Horsham, UK HQ meanwhile, now stands at over 120 staff (up from 60 when it was acquired by Sega in 2005), with busy teams dedicated to Total War games for both PC and new consoles.
Sports Interactive, meanwhile, has grown slower, but has still expanded by 25 per cent since joining the Sega family over two years ago. Its biggest step has been the development of Football Manager Live, Sega Europe’s first MMO, and an ambitious project that will take one of its “crown jewel” franchises into the online space, says Dunn.
The impressive growth of these has been due to Sega’s independent-minded views on how its studios are run. Or rather, left to run themselves, he adds.
Because while EA and Activision have both recently made much noise about how their studio model is in fact independent, it turns out Sega Europe was already doing it – just not telling the world about it.
“It’s an incredibly competitive market and what we’ve managed to do with these studios is nurture them – but not smother them,” says Dunn. “It’s taken a lot of investment, both human capital and cash capital to turn these studios into full-fledged, supported teams – but we’ve wanted them to keep their independence creatively.”
So Sega has paid for the studios to expand, offering support for things like human resources and aiding moves into new offices (all three studios are now in new premises), but tried to steer clear of creative meddling.
“We’ve integrated them into the infrastructure, but allowed their creativity to be pretty much independent. Anyway, trying to tell Sports Interactive how to make a football game or Creative Assembly how to make a strategy game would be pretty futile anyway.”
Of course, you can’t talk European games development with Sega Europe without acknowledging one aborted effort – namely the Sega Racing Studio. Or, more accurately, the closed Sega Racing Studio which was opened to much fanfare in 2005, but cut drift and sold off to Codemasters earlier this year after just one game, an attempt to revive Sega Rally. So what happened?
“The only PR that been out about the closure of SRS has been a fairly negative one,” says Dunn, who is keen to redress the balance and make the short-lived studio’s achievements apparent.
“We wanted to look at our heritage racing IP and reinvent it. If you appraise what happened based on the game, I think we did very well.”
The game had generally positive reviews (its Metacritic is a respectable 75 average), but sold only moderately well, released at a time when next-gen gamers were more interested in Halo 3 and other more established racing franchises had sped back onto the scene. Does the studio’s quick opening and even quicker closure prove the independent model has its flaws when a publisher tries to pursue it? Dunn doesn’t think so, saying that in retrospect it was clear the attempts to update the IP – a move everyone at Sega believed in – was out of step with modern games.
“Where, as developers, we missed a trick was that driving games have become a lot like RPGs,” says Dunn.
“But we built a pure racing game, and the market and gamers’ tastes have moved on. They want to build a garage and collect cars, but Sega Rally has never been like that. It wouldn’t have been Sega Rally if we’d added those features in. So the game wasn’t a big stepping stone or evolution for the genre.”
Which seems to be a bit of irony for Sega Europe: in the years prior it had commissioned Sumo Digital to produce very well received new versions of OutRun, the success of which suggested a big market for other racing revamps. But Sega learnt the hard way a cruel lesson about build vs. buy and how to best treat its IP. The relative failure of Sega Rally pretty much explains the motivation to close the team down, despite having new projects pitched into it when the axe fell.
But Dunn is pragmatic: “It’s not an easy thing to do – so far none of the major racing franchises are new from this generation. And similarly, the decision to close SRS wasn’t one taken lightly either.”
STRIKE WHILE ITS HOT
And while the closure will have helped inform that independent studio model, and Dunn can take some solace in the fact that many SRS employees are now with his old employer Codemasters (or found work at the UK’s many other racing studios – there is no shortage of them, after all). Some other good did come of the closure, however, namely the establishment of the Sega Technology Group.
A unit of five former SRS coders, the Technology Group is according to Dunn a ‘Sega special ops’ unit, dispatched to any of its studios struggling with next-gen or new technology. So far, the team has travelled around the world, working with not just
Sports Interactive and Creative Assembly, but also teams in Japan and the US, either internal or external.
“At the moment, in modern times, you can’t afford not to have a special ops team like this,” says Dunn. “It’s also helped our external developers and our publishing team work better,” he adds, saying the team has been able to research new technologies as well as just turn up to projects and help them out.
In fact, the Technology Group characterises what Dunn describes as the “better and better investment choices” Sega Europe has been making and which has lead to an “unprecedented” growth of its development staff, recent studio closure or not.
That has included continuing to sign projects to the UK’s big independent studios, including Eurocom and Sumo (“very solid developers who do good work for us”), and an overall evolution of its European development strategy to create some key titles.
A HEAD OF THE GAME
One of those is the new House of the Dead title, developed by Kuju’s London-based Headstrong team. It’s another revamp of a classic company brand by a UK studio, but one developed for the Wii, proof in many ways that Sega seems to be moving with the changes. House of the Dead is designed for the new market of Wii players, perhaps unlike Sega Rally which was for the still undefined next-gen ownership when it was commissioned.
“Headstrong gave us a great pitch which impressed us, and they have great technology. Plus they have very good links with Nintendo,” says Dunn. “The game is a great example of working with an external partner. We had a clear view of what we wanted and Headstrong had some great ideas too.
“The key thing is that they are different markets in many ways, so the key is to play to the strengths of them.”
But despite the development money being spent on its internal studios’ headline PC efforts and a key Wii title, Dunn says that Sega will still address the high-end consoles. Creative Assembly has a respectable console game team, after all – with a sci-fi RTS on the way. However it’s clear that Sega, like any smart developer, will go where the money is and where the new opportunities lie. Sister division Sega America’s success on iPhone is a clear indication of how sophisticated the company has become, says Dunn.
But the company does plans to maintain its momentum in Europe and continue making those smart investments in developers across the continent.
“If you look back we’ve been strong supporters of the UK development scene,” he says. He’s not wrong: the recent Sega Europe softography, featuring the likes of Team 17, Bizarre Creations, and Zoë Mode, is partly s a who’s who of independent games development.
And Sega is keen to sign more projects from independents, adds Dunn.
“We want to sign successful new IP – that might not sound like a lot, but it’s a big challenge. Especially finding the right new IP,” he says saying that specifically, the company is interested in “well thought out ideas that have some thought into where it would sit in the market place.
“I’ve seen too many developers make games and not think about who it would be sold too.“
That said, products that just tick boxes for marketers isn’t a priority, he adds, and the company has been happy to chase the unlikely projects.
“One of Sega’s aims is always to innovate and do something a bit different. Sometimes it doesn’t work, or doesn’t catch on with players – [Bizarre Creations’] The Club didn’t, but it’s one of my favourite games at the moment. But sometimes that strategy does work, and it works brilliantly.”
The embracing of the independent studio model for its internal teams has actually allowed for the company to have an eager focus when it comes to signing up games by actual independents, and spend time chasing or nurturing such projects, he adds.
Says Dunn: “We actually spend more time working with our external partners than we do the internal teams on a creative standpoint.”
And time seems to be on Sega’s side – most importantly, the company isn’t looking to just foster growth for the immediate future, but into the next console cycle and beyond.
Adds Dunn: “We’ve got what we think works for 2009 and 2010, but we want to be thinking early on upcoming new properties. We’re looking at what could be coming in 2011.”


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On Tuesday morning, CNN introduced an iPhone app that puts to shame similar products. Featuring live newscasts, video-on-demand, and a familiar iPhone interface, the CNN iPhone app also takes a step ahead of other news apps by charging $2 for the dow...
The TomTom Car Kit for the iPhone 3G or 3GS is now available for sale in the UK through the Apple Store for £99.99.
NetSuite on Wednesday plans to unveil a new native application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users of its on-demand ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite tap a number of key capabilities while on the go.
AT&T is on track to flip the switch to enable MMS functionality for U.S. iPhone users this Friday. The wireless carrier said that all users should be able to send and receive MMS messages by Friday afternoon.
An industry group says Palm's Pre shouldn't pretend to be something it isn't, namely an Apple product.
Google on Tuesday introduced push e-mail for iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, stepping up its enterprise offerings.
A gold rush for iPhone and other smartphone application developers is in the works, with U.S. revenues from smartphone apps expected to increase more than 10 times through 2013, to $US4.2 billion.
Apple is investigating reports of poor battery life problems from iPhone 3GS users after they upgraded to the 3.1 OS. The iPhone 3.1 software update delivered many new features, but some users also report that the phone's battery life is severely and...
Continued complaints by iPhone owners about fast-draining batteries have prompted Apple to ask some users to install power-logging software on their smartphones in an effort to diagnose the problem, according to messages on the company's support foru...
Google told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that Apple did indeed reject the Google Voice application from the iPhone store, despite contrary statements from Apple.
Apple's increasingly popular App Store has been flooded with a wide number of applications related to Swine Flu since the initial H1N1 outbreak in March, but very few of the apps were actually useful.
Lenovo Mobile is designing handsets for China's national 3G mobile standard that will sell for as little as US$150, but its high-end handset made to rival the iPhone is not one of them, the company said Wednesday.
The iPhone hacking faithful can now unlock and jailbreak their original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch 1G devices with the much-awaited PwnageTool 3.1. Unfortunately, the hacking tool does not yet support the iPhone 3GS or the new iPod Touch, but ...
CitySourced, a startup formed by well-connected political action site FreedomSpeaks.com, will let US citizens use a smartphone like Superman's phone booth and help save the day in their city.
A smartphone application coming to the US this fall could help drivers use GPS to detect speed traps, cameras at red lights and more than 200,000 related alerts based on a database of locations compiled with updates from drivers.
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GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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iPhone 14 launch is about five days away and reports about iPhone 15 have started to pour in the rumour mill already. It has been widely reported that Apple will be producing some handsets in the iPhone 14 series in India due to various reasons, including minimising the impact of geopolitical tensions between China and the US. It has now been claimed that from next year, India and China could produce iPhone 15 simultaneously. Furthermore, the reported gap in iPhone 14 production schedule between India and China is said to have been reduced.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that the mass production schedule of the iPhone 14 models in India this year “is still about six weeks behind China, but the gap has improved significantly.” On the basis of this, he said it is reasonable to expect that “India and China will be able to produce the new iPhone 15 at the same time next year.”
It is to be noted that Apple has been searching for an alternative market to produce iPhone models. Currently, China is the company’s important hub for worldwide shipments. However, recent geopolitical tensions between China and the US administration as well as the disrupted economic activity due to COVID-19 lockdowns has reportedly forced the Cupertino-based company to look for alternatives to produce iPhone models. Reports suggest that this would help Apple to minimise the impact of problems faced by the company in the recent months. Kuo, however, claimed that the geopolitical tension will not affect iPhone 14 mass production and shipment schedule.
It has been reported that the iPhone 14 models are planned to go into production in India about two months after the product’s initial release out of China. Apple’s move to produce some iPhone 14 models in India could be an ‘important milestone’ for the Indian market, but the iPhone-maker has its reservations about setting up India manufacturing units as it comes with its own challenges such as product secrecy and maintaining high standards.
iPhone 14 series will launch globally on September 7 and the shipment may start about a week and a half after the unveiling. Production sites in India are expected to manufacture the iPhone 14 models with a 6.1-inch display that are tipped to be the vanilla iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max are believed to feature 6.7-inch displays and won’t be manufactured in the country.


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Monday, March 13, 2017
Tim Berners-Lee Inventor of the worldwide web calls for tighter regulation of online political advertising
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, has called for tighter regulation of online political advertising, which he says is being used in “unethical ways”.
“We urgently need to close the ‘internet blind spot’ in the regulation of political campaigning,” he said, writing in an open letter marking the 28th anniversary of his invention.
The 61-year-old British computer scientist described how political advertising has become a sophisticated and targeted industry, drawing on enormous pools of personal data on Facebook and Google. This means that campaigns create precisely targeted ads for individuals – as many as 50,000 variations each day on Facebook during the 2016 US election, he said.


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“Not everyone gets to have the start I did – I was very lucky,” says Mat Hunter. “I managed to become a designer when the talents I had were just becoming valuable.”
Hunter is a former partner at IDEO and served as the Design Council’s chief design officer from 2010 to 2015. For the last five years, however, he has been working towards a different mission: to get designers into more powerful positions across the country with his innovation hub brand Plus X.
If design is to truly be taken seriously and make a difference, then designers need to be in more positions of power he tells Design Week. Chief design officers in places like the Cabinet Office, local councils and on the boards of charities are a good start. But Hunter also wants to see designers confident enough in their skills to start their own businesses.
“There’s a sense of social justice to our mission”
But as he states, not everyone gets the chance to follow through with their ideas. A lack of funding or business training, dampened confidence and geographic preference for entrepreneurship in London means opportunities aren’t found in equal measure across the UK.
Plus X is Hunter’s attempt to address this issue. Co-founded with former tech investor and start-up advisor Paul Rostas, the innovation hub is a mixture of office space and workshops for local SMEs in Brighton. The aim is to bring product design and manufacturing back into UK cities outside of London to try and reverse the trend of business being taken overseas.
“Regional towns across the UK are full of amazing people and there’s a sense of social justice to our mission,” Hunter says. “Everyone has the right to start and excel in their own business and change the world in their own image.”
“We all got internships”
The idea, Hunter says, is to replicate the support he had during his own formative years as a designer. Hunter began his career by training in industrial design at London’s Central Saint Martins, before being accepted to the Royal College of Art (RCA) to study what was then referred to “computer-related design”.
“It was a relatively unknown world back then, where designers were helping to shape computing before the world wide web was created,” he says. Hunter recalls a time halfway through his studies at the RCA, where his small class “piled out” to Boston to the annual ACM conference. “In a small side room we demonstrated our work and we all got jobs and internships out of it.”
Hunter was lucky enough to earn a placement with IDEO, the design consultancy he would later become a partner at. The job market is rarely so straightforward for designers nowadays, he says.
“Designers should be given the agency to be leaders of solutions”
Several years later, when Hunter was elected as chief design officer of the Design Council, he focused his attention on getting designers into decision-making roles. This work was the precursor for Plus X’s mission today, he explains.
“When I first joined, we were linking designers with manufacturers and clients who needed something,” he says. “If we wanted some new hospital furniture, we worked with an SME manufacturer, and would then pair them with a designer to act as a consultant.”
It was a system that worked successfully, but Hunter says he wanted to see what would happen if designers were given the opportunity to start their own businesses and design services of their own.
“I thought designers should be given the agency to be the leaders of solutions, not just the followers of someone else,” Hunter says.
“They start by cooking things up in their kitchens”
Part of his work then and now is about instilling confidence in designers to realise their ideas. This can only be done with a well-established support network, funding and facilities.
He says Plus X Brighton will provide “wrap around” support to this end. The onsite BRITE programme, which is in the process of attracting new local businesses and start-ups, will provide government funding worth £10.5 million to the area.
“What I find wonderful is that often with these designers, who have decided to make a new material for example, they start by cooking things up in their kitchens,” Hunter says. Incidentally, one of Plus X’s founding members is Lucy Hughes, who won last year’s Dyson Award for her invention MarinaTex, a plastic alternative made from fish waste. She developed the material in her student flat kitchen.
“So really these people need two things: they need better, safer facilities to get out of their kitchen, and they need the confidence and ability to recruit others for their cause,” he says. In the case of designers making new materials, he says this would likely include bringing material scientists on board.
“The role of innovation in our recovery will be huge”
Seven months into the global coronavirus crisis, in which countless designers have had their work uprooted, Hunter says his purpose is clearer than ever.
“Not only have we seen regional cities face worsening economic inequality during the pandemic, but the role of innovation in our recovery will be huge,” he says. “The pandemic has accelerated trends that were already at play and if we feel time is on fast forward, we need to give designers the opportunity and resources to react.”
Hunter says multiple examples from the past seven months indicate design skills are “more relevant than ever”. He points to graphic design being used for public health communications, or product design employed to make vital equipment like ventilators and masks, as examples.
“It’s all too easy to feel alone right now”
The pandemic presents an interesting challenge to Hunter’s Plus X, however. Lockdowns have forced designers and creatives out of offices and studios – is opening a physical workspace really the right thing to be focusing on right now? It’s a topic Hunter feels passionately about.
“It’s been interesting to see that some digital companies like Twitter and Google have told employees they can work from home forevermore – I believe that’s problematic,” he says. “Working from home in its entirety can be difficult and I believe getting people together physically is incredibly important.”
Doing so, he says, creates a sense of confidence, and also maintains mental wellbeing for designers. He adds: “It’s all too easy to feel alone right now.”
“We might never go back to our five-day-a-week commute into the city centre, but I believe physical space for designers still matters hugely.”
“I’ve been excited to see more choice”
So, against the backdrop of economic uncertainty, what advice does Hunter have for designers?
“I would encourage designers to ask themselves what they actually want to see changed and consider what kind of organisation is best placed to help them realise that,” he says.
While he says working for a consultancy or an in-house team are “honorable and really necessary roles”, he hopes designers know there are places for them beyond just that, and he says he is working to ensure that is the case. Plus X has plans to open several new sites across the UK in the coming years, thanks to a partnership with development company U+I.
“I’ve been excited to see more choice, and I hope that continues, so that designers can take those opportunities and shape the world how they wish to see it,” he says.